For those of you who remember Josta, Soft Drink of the Gods[sup]TM[/sup], which Pepsi in it’s infinite stupidity decided to kill in order that they might promote Slice, Soft Drink of the Spawn of Satan, I have found something that comes as close to the taste of the original Josta as anything I’ve had in the horrific years since they pulled it off the market! I present you with Herbal Dr. Enuf. Granted, it’s not quite the same in flavor, the ginseng is noticable in the taste, but it’s close enough that I nursed the bottle I bought this evening for a good two hours, rather than knocking it all back at once. Methinks I’ll be buying a case or two of the stuff tomorrow!
Oooh. I’ve been on the prowl for a good guarana beverage since they canned Josta (no pun intended). “Fire” from the Snapple Elements line, “Dragon” and “Adrenaline Rush” from SoBe, and Mountain Dew’s “Amp” all are good, but I do miss the Josta.
Goes pretty good with bourbon, too, I’ve found. (Of course, IMHO, everything’s goes better with bourbon!)
So I found Herbal Dr. Enuf at Central Market (an expensive division of H.E.B.) and boy was I happy. I was pretty much addicted to Josta, especially being an Architecture major. Probably about 2 days a week are totally sleepless for the dedicated Architectural student, and Josta was a real savior. Plus I loved the taste. I think they even started selling it in the vending machines in the school!!! I only had to walk 100 yards to buy it! I was crushed when they stopped selling it.
Dr. Enuf tastes good, there is no doubt about it, but I can’t say that it is even similar to Josta. More like Big Red. When I was at Central Market I found another guarana drink: Guarana Brazilia. I think it tastes much closer to Josta. It even froze the same as Josta.
By the way, don’t bother with Guarana Antarctica. It doesn’t taste very good, IMHO.
If you are looking for more Guarana beverages, here are some websites that might help.
http://www.geocities.com/igioia/blso2.htm
http://www.bevnet.com/reviews/
The first one has a picture of Guarana Brazilia so you know what to look for in the stores. Though it really shouldn’t be hard if you look at Central Market. They are REALLY pushing it right now. In case the link goes dead. The can is a typical 12 oz can. Yellow with a big red dot, which contains the name and also a map of Brazil. The bottle is similar. The bottle itself is green glass, 12oz as well and it’s label is similar to the can. Both are 99cents. No discount for buying a 6pack. (See? Central Market is expensive. $6 for a 6 pack of cola!) The drink is a brown clear color, like watered down coke. It looks golden in the green bottle. It doesn’t taste exactly like Josta, but it’s the closest I’ve found yet.